Palm Beach buyer snaps up entire floor of The Bristol condo

Construction continues on The Bristol, the most expensive condominium ever built in Palm Beach County in West Palm Beach, Florida on February 7, 2018. The condo topped off last month and is nearly sold out. Six units sold in the past week. (Allen Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post)

The Bristol, Palm Beach County’s most expensive condominium, has sold an entire floor to Palm Beach philanthropist Sydell Miller, according to the condo’s developer.

Adelson said Miller purchased the 24th floor of the 25-story ultra-luxury property, still under construction. The Bristol is at 1112 S. Flagler Drive, just south of downtown along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Adelson did not disclose the floor’s sales price, but real estate sources say the figure is rumored to be about $40 million. The floor previously had been marketed as two units, one with 6,136 square feet and the other with 8,377 square feet, sources said.

It’s not clear whether Miller will move from her palatial 84,626-square-foot Palm Beach mansion at 1415 S. Ocean Blvd., which has a taxable value of $96 million, according to county property records.

Carole Ruhlman of Sotheby’s International Realty, who sold the Palm Beach estate to Miller, said Wednesday that she could not comment on whether the estate is for sale. Miller could not be reached for comment.

Miller and her late husband, Arnold, founded the Matrix Essentials hair care and beauty products line. The company was sold in 1994 to Bristol Myers Squibb. In 2005, Sydell Miller and her daughters, Lauren Spilman and Stacie Halpern, donated $70 million to the Cleveland Clinic.

The Bristol’s sales activity is a smashing success for a building that was the subject of heated resistance by West Palm Beach residents when it was proposed in 2013. Lawsuits by neighborhood opponents were filed, then eventually settled, prompting a delay in the building’s original timeline.

But once sales began in 2015, the project’s fortunes changed. By May 2015, the luxury condo had sold 17 percent of its units before it even had a sales center or website up and running.

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

The Bristol topped off last month and is nearly sold out. Six units sold in the past week. (Allen Eyestone / The Palm Beach Post)

Real estate agents said Miller’s purchase gives the property credibility, cementing it as an extension of Palm Beach and the luxury residences that dot the island.

The Bristol hit the market as the only new luxury residence being built along the water in West Palm Beach during a period when wealthy buyers were seeking something fresh, said Burt Minkoff, a sales associate with the Corcoran Group on Palm Beach.

“The building is definitely a game changer. There’s nothing new in the area that offers that kind of luxury,” Minkoff said. “And the style is what people want. It’s far more modern.”

The Bristol’s prices are astronomical, ranging from $1,500 to more than $2,500 per square foot. The average size of units is 4,500 square feet and an average price is about $10 million. Overall, units range from 3,600 to 14,000 square feet. A team of Douglas Elliman agents is handling sales.

By January 2017, sales volume for the building stood at $300 million, making it likely that figure is well past $400 million now.

The Bristol ran two advertisements during last Sunday’s Super Bowl, Adelson said, a move it has done in previous years.

But sales were galloping before Sunday’s game.

The latest boost came courtesy of the tax law, which is spurring sales of Florida properties to buyers from high-tax states in the Northeast. Adelson said recent buyers include one from Connecticut and another from New York.

“Yes, the tax act has had a positive influence on The Bristol,” he said.

Word of mouth also has helped sales. Some buyers are discovering the building because their friends at private clubs such as the Everglades Club on Palm Beach, or Trump International Golf Club, bought units, Adelson said.

Multiple purchases also have taken place, he added.

In January, “topping off” ceremonies were held when the last beam, or its equivalent, was placed atop the structure during its construction.

The developer feted buyers at Club Colette on Palm Beach. Meanwhile, builder Suffolk Construction held a celebration at The Bristol with subcontractors who have helped build the condominium.

The Bristol is set for completion by December or January, Adelson said.